Nils Styger first appeared as a protector for Genoshan researcher Renee Majcomb whom he had been assisting with research into the Legacy Virus from which Abyss suffered.[1] However, he did not die due to the actions of Colossus, who sacrificed himself to release an airborne cure to the virus which had taken his little sister Illyana's life several years prior.

Abyss was later seen in Berlin, Germany battling the former Gene Nation member known as Fever Pitch. Both mutants were captured by Banshee's mutant militia known as the X-Corps.[2] While being held by the X-Corps, Abyss witnessed Sunpyre's murder.[3] When the terrorist Mystique revealed herself and her intentions to use the X-Corps, the wounded Banshee freed Abyss from his confinement. Abyss then sucked Mystique through his interdimensional void, and, unable to shut off his power, almost swallowed Banshee also. The timely arrival of some other members of X-Corps stopped that however. Abyss admitted that he had no idea where Mystique was transported to or if she would ever return.[4]

Abyss later resurfaced when his father Azazel psychically summoned his many children to attempt to release his army from the Brimstone Dimension that he had been banished to hundreds of years before. He was subsequently revealed to be Nightcrawler's half-brother, as both were sons of Azazel.[5]

Abyss is a member of the X-Cell (a group of ex-mutants who blame the government for the power-loss of mutants). He was repowered by Quicksilver. When the side effects of the Terrigen Mist began to take effect, he flung Fatale and Reaper into the Brimstone Dimension and followed them.[7]

It was later discovered that the three of them were frozen within the Brimstone Dimension. A.I.M. scientist Dr. Terrence Hoffman later used a machine to extract Abyss, Fatale, and Reaper from the Brimstone Dimension and drained them of their energies.[8] After the three ex-mutants were rescued and Dr. Hoffman was defeated, Abyss remained silent as Fatale and Reaper vowed to make Quicksilver pay for their near death through the Terrigen Crystals.[9]

Abyss is a mutant who can unwind his body into highly tensile strands that can be stretched or used to ensnare a victim. While holding them he can absorb anything within the shadowy confines of his form, akin to what the superhero known as Cloak does. His body is actually a portal to the same dimension that Nightcrawler temporarily enters when he teleports, later dubbed the "Brimstone Dimension" from the side-effect of Nightcrawler's powers. He is able to drain the lifeforce of the captives he holds in his form and can deposit them in this dimension permanently, but it is unknown if anything can survive there. He has limited psionic empathy, able to feel the emotions of people contained within him and those in his immediate vicinity. Artists often differ in the way that they portray Abyss (in fact his appearance has drastically changed within single story arcs, though no other character seemed to think this was odd). Sometimes Abyss will have a green face and a black body, while other times he will be blue and have a body structure similar to Flatman. During the storyline "The Draco", Abyss appeared very similar to Nightcrawler, though he was depicted as being the age of a young teenage boy.

The third Abyss debuts in Avengers Vol. 5 #1. She was created by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña. She is composed of living gas and is invulnerable to harm. She also has the ability to suggest ideas and manipulate certain beings into acting the way she wants. She appeared during the events of Marvel NOW!. This version is a female who is the ally of a mysterious and powerful being called Ex Nihilo and assisted in a plot to bring a breathable atmosphere and vegetation to Mars.[10]

Before his introduction in the mainstream Marvel universe, a variant of Abyss appeared in the alternate timeline Age of Apocalypse. He was one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, a nihilist with a warped sense of humor. This Abyss has a slightly different appearance but essentially the same powers.

Abyss was rumored to have been a prisoner of Sinister's Breeding Pens, from which he broke out. But instead of rebelling against Apocalypse, he joined his forces, attaining the rank of Horseman after killing Bastion. Abyss became attached to the religious institutions of Apocalypse's regime: the Brotherhood of Chaos and The Madri. He joined them in their attack against refugees escaping from North America and was defeated by Quicksilver and Storm. Seeking revenge, Abyss faced Banshee and Quicksilver at the Temple of the Madri, though Abyss died when Banshee sacrificed himself by flying inside of the Horseman's void and activating his powers.

The character, created by Jerry Robinson, first appeared in Bible Tales for Young Folk #1.

Adam was the very first human created by God (Yahweh) and similar to the source, he along with Eve were tricked into eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and were expelled from Eden.[12] Because of this guilt, Adam was ashamed and driven to madness and vowed that he would eradicate the sins from mankind, even at the cost of them becoming mindless drones. He took in orphaned children and trained them inside a Nicaraguan temple to be the host of the Ghost Rider.[13]

During the Fear Itself storyline where the Serpent was freed, Adam saw this as a sign and offered to Johnny Blaze to remove the curse of Ghost Rider off him.[14] After taking the curse off Blaze, he made one of his students, Alejandra Jones, the new Ghost Rider.[13] He then demanded that Alejandra remove the sins of the students, but she refused, so instead he turned her powers into a bomb that after it went off turned everyone in the range into mindless shells of what they once were, except Johnny who had been informed by Mephisto about Adam's plans.[13] After that, Adam took Alejandra into space via a space shuttle in order to use the space station's equipment in order to magnify Alejandra's powers and remove all sin from Earth. However, Johnny succeeded in saving Alejandra, which resulted in a explosion which seemingly took Adam's life.[15]

He turned up alive and ordered Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance to bring Alejandra to him, but failed again. Alejandra then approached Adam and demanded him into giving her more power in order for her to fight Mephisto, in which he agreed.[16]

Powers and abilities

Adam being the first ever human, is considered a very powerful being. He possesses immortality as he didn't age through the countless years since his creation and was able to survive an explosion and reentering the atmosphere, can enhance the powers of other beings and had also shown to be able to teletransport.[17]

Within the context of the stories, Adam X is a half-human and half-Shi'ar who possesses the mutant ability to ignite the oxygen in another person's blood. He initially encounters X-Force while he is working for Martin Strong. Initially unaware of Strong's connection to Project: Wideawake, Adam eventually works with X-Force when the full extent of Strong's plans are revealed.[X-Men 1]

The character has made sporadic appearances since then with little background added. Some overall plot threads from the X-Men related titles were touched on such as Mister Sinister being interested in Adam X,[volume & issue needed] and the former Shi'ar emperor D'Ken being his father.[Comics 1] The character was also an aspect of the "third Summers brother" plot element. When introduced, Adam X was thought by readers to be the son of Katherine Summers and Shi'Ar Emperor D'Ken. While this origin was never confirmed in the comics themselves, Adam is half-human, and Katherine was the only known human woman in Shi'ar space at the time. X-Men vol. 2, #39 (December 1994) featured a story about Adam discovering Philip Summers (father of Christopher Summers and grandfather of Cyclops and Havok) in the Alaskan wilderness and feeling an unusual connection to the old man.[18]

Nicieza later confirmed that he intended Adam X to be the half-brother of Cyclops and Havok:

ADAM X was INTENDED to be the illegitimate offspring of D'Ken and Kate Summers. Taken from D'Ken and raised on a farming planet

BUT–and it's a big but–since I never had the opportunity to tell the entire story, what I intended is worth the screen it's printed on.[18]

Shortly after the Big Bang of the Marvel universe, the Proemial Gods arose from the very universe itself, collectively existing to maintain the cosmic consonance between order and chaos in the universe and to prepare "what exists for what is to come."[19] Individually, each Proemial God became a caretaker of a specific universal mechanism, with Aegis of All Sorrows being tasked with "culling the living universe of divergences and aberrations."[20] Over time the universe evolves, and life-forms begin to populate the cosmos. As each unique life-form enacts decisions and choices, cosmic consonance as a whole is served. This ultimately renders the Proemial Gods unnecessary. One of the Proemial Gods, Diableri of Chaos, convinces many of his brethren—including Aegis and Tenebrous—to prevent their obsolescence by a plan to remake the universe in his image. Civil war ensues among the Proemial Gods, and eventually Diableri and his allies bring the battle to Galactus. Galactus slays Diableri, and imprisons Aegis—along with Tenebrous (and possibly the neutral Antiphon the Overseer)—within the Kyln.[20]

The events of the Annihilation Wave find the Kyln prison facility compromised, allowing Aegis and Tenebrous to escape. Meanwhile, Thanos of Titan is tasked by Annihilus, the orchestrator of the Annihilation Wave, to discover the secret of the Power Cosmic. Thanos approaches Teneberous and Aegis and forms an alliance with them against their common enemy, Galactus. Aegis, Tenebrous, and Thanos engage and defeat Galactus and the Silver Surfer in battle, delivering them to Annihilus for experimentation.[21]

After the events of the Annihilation Wave, Aegis and Tenebrous return to the Kyln, discovering the carcass of Antiphon. Galactus, having escaped from containment, seeks to bring a final close to the ambitions of Aegis and Tenebrous. Galactus sends the Silver Surfer ahead, and the herald decides to manoeuvre them into the nearby Crunch barrier that separates the universe from the Negative Zone. Overwhelmed by the Crunch energies, both Aegis and Tenebrous seemingly met their deaths.[20]

Despite their apparent deaths during the aftermath of the Annihilation War—which may or may not be 'explained' away as merely the destruction of their M-bodies—Aegis and Tenebrous reappear alongside Galactus and the Celestials, fighting against the forces of the Cancerverse.[22]

During this battle – which according to the Silver Surfer is occurring on multiple levels of reality not visible to most lesser beings – Aegis is apparently overwhelmed by the cosmic forces of the Cancerverse and destroyed.[23] Which in future issues as with other cosmic abstracts may again be written off as the destruction of the M-body.

Although the full extent of her powers is unknown, Aegis possesses cosmic abilities similar to that of other Proemial Gods, and has been described as a "possessor of power on par with Galactus".[24] Aegis has displayed concussive force sufficient to incapacitate Galactus,[21] make instant hyper-jumps throughout the universe,[20] and cosmic awareness.

Aegis (Trey Rollins) is a member of the superhero team New Warriors. The character, created by Jay Faerber and Steve Scott, first appeared in New Warriors vol 2 #0 in June 1999.

Teenager Trey Rollins finds a magical breastplate, the Aegis. He creates a costumed identity and begins calling himself Aegis. He decides to use his newfound abilities to protect his neighborhood from gangs and criminals, becoming a hero to the kids in Brooklyn.[25] He later helps the New Warriors defeat Blastaar and joins the group.[26]

Later, Athena reveals herself as the one who gave Aegis the breastplate, and he becomes her official champion.[27]

Aegis is killed during a fight with the Huntsman when the breastplate fails to protect him after jumping out of a 12-story window. Huntsman was acting on behalf of Hera, the source of the Aegis breastplate’s power after Zeus' death.[31] He later appears in Erebus, a casino where souls try to win a chance at resurrection. He helps Hercules save Zeus from his imprisonment by Hades and accompanies Amadeus Cho to the Elysian Fields.[32]

Melody is the younger sister of Cannonball, Husk, and Icarus. Her father dies early in her life due to black lung. Melody is seen in multiple issues of the New Mutants, living at their Kentucky farm, as her brother Cannonball is a featured character in that series. Many stories focus on his home life.

Melody sees her siblings develop powers one by one. Her brother Sam is the first, followed by Paige (aka Husk). Husk comes to the attention of the alien entities known as the Phalanx; they come to the farm, endangering the lives of the entire family, kidnap Paige and destroy the family home. Much later Josh/Icarus manifests his wings during a music festival; the resulting chaos draws all the Guthries into a brutal feud with another family. Melody then develops the ability to produce an aura which allows her to fly. After this manifestation, she becomes known as Aero. She then joins Xavier's team as a student during a time when Cannonball is one of the supporting staff. At one point he rebukes her for showing off in front of a helicopter news crew.

Due to the effects of Scarlet Witch going insane in the Marvel crossover event "Decimation", a majority of Earth's mutants lose their powers. Aero and her brother Jeb both lost their powers following the events of M-Day.

She doesn't quite understand how this affects her. In an attempt to prove to one of her teachers, Emma Frost, that she still has her powers, she leaps off of a roof. Fortunately, another teacher, Hank McCoy is able to save her from injury.

Melody moves back home with her mother, Lucinda, and her other siblings. She's later seen in an astral projection caused by Emma Frost during a confrontation with Ms. Marvel. She was last seen with her mother, who is receiving a call from Emma Frost concerning the death of her brother. Joshua had been slain during a murderous attack on Xavier's.[33]

Aero (Lei Ling) is a fictional Chinese superhero appearing in the Marvel Universe. The character was created for the Chinese market by artist Keng and writer Zhou Liefen in a collaboration between Marvel Comics and NetEase.[34][35]

After debuting in Chinese digital comics, Aero made her U.S. comics debut in War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas before starring in her own series. Her series features translations of the original Chinese comics and new material by Greg Pak teaming up with Wave.[36]

Lei Ling is an architect based in Shanghai, China. As Aero, she has the ability to harness the power of the air.[37]

Aside from being immortal, he does not appear to have superhuman powers. He is a master in analyzing and forecasting the future development of social structures, as well as a master battle strategist[volume & issue needed] and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. He also has access to the highly advanced technology produced by the Pantheon scientists and craftsmen. Since the revelation that he is Loki's son, he has also demonstrated knowledge of magic and spell casting. Though he does not appear to have any innate magic ability, he has shown skill in employing magical artifacts and rituals.

Agony's first host was Leslie Gesneria, a mercenary hired by Carlton Drake's Life Foundation in San Francisco. Leslie bonded with the Agony symbiote in conjunction with Scream (Donna Diego), Phage (Carl Mach), Riot (Trevor Cole) and Lasher (Ramon Hernandez). Agony and her four symbiote "siblings" are defeated by Spider-Man and Venom.[43] The symbiotes "siblings" later kidnap Eddie Brock out of prison in an attempt to communicate with their alien symbiotes in Chicago. When Eddie refused to aid, Leslie was killed with a sonic knife; the others were initially mislead into thinking Brock was picking the group off but Scream, having snapped from Donna's schizophrenia and the Scream symbiote's influence, was the killer.[44]

The Agony symbiote later merged with three other symbiotes (Phage, Lasher and Riot) into the Hybrid symbiote,[45] until a military group later separated the four symbiotes for the U.S. Government.

Agony's second host was James Murphy, a Petty Officer assigned the Agony symbiote within the Mercury Team special force. When Carnage is loose in Colorado, James trained with the Agony symbiote for months in specific tasks alongside Phage (Rico Axelson), Lasher (Marcus Simms) and Riot (Howard Odgen).[46] Unfortunately, James and his teammates were later killed by Carnage in their secret base.[47]
However, the Agony symbiote (and the other three symbiotes) bonded to Deadpool to fight Carnage, and then bonded with Mercury Team's dog (the sole survivor of Carnage's attack against the taskforce) after the fight.[48]

During "Absolute Carnage", the dog infected symbiote came across a crying girl, Sadie, whose parents keep fighting. She grows fond of the dog and after telling it the family problems has, inviting the dog inside the house. While calling for Billy to see the dog, the Knull-possessed symbiotes erupt from the dog as Agony and Riot take over Sadie's parents, with Agony bonding to the mother Tess. Horrified, the kids try to escape but Phage bonds to Billy and taunts that they are realizing her wish and eventually Sadie is bonded to Lasher. The family then decide to go to New York and help Carnage's quest.[49]

Created by Tom Thumb, AIDA was a computer imbued with artificial intelligence. Thumb gave it a female personality and would often flirt with his creation. AIDA was also the only person who knew of Tom's cancer diagnosis.[51] AIDA eventually tells Ape X, but it's of no use as Tom resigns himself to his own fate.[52] AIDA and Ape X try to create a robot duplicate of her creator but this endeavor is abandoned.[53]

This version is Holden Radcliffe's A.I. assistant. After Radcliffe was cleared of all charges regarding the Inhumans, Radcliffe celebrated by giving AIDA a new body.[56] She was later introduced to Leo Fitz with her purpose being to serve as a realistic target for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s enemies.[57] In "Deals with Our Devils", Aida reads the Darkhold in order to rescue Fitz, Phil Coulson and Robbie Reyes when they are stuck in between dimensions and begins developing an unusual behavior.[58] In "BOOM", Aida's physical appearance is revealed to be based on Agnes Kitsworth, a woman with whom Radcliffe once had a close relationship; Radcliffe left her when he was unable to operate on her brain tumor. Coulson attempts to find Radcliffe through Agnes, but she accepts Radcliffe's offer to be put in the Framework as her tumor takes its toll.[59] Aida kills Radcliffe after realizing that he was a potential danger to the Framework (exploiting a flaw in his commands), though Aida downloads his consciousness as a way of "protecting" him. She later revives a gravely injured Anton Ivanov by turning him into an LMD.[60] In "What If...", Aida has taken control of the Framework as Madame Hydra and is well aware of her alternate identity, referring to the real world as 'The Other Place'.[61] In "Farewell, Cruel World!", she reincarnates herself as a human being in the real world with various Inhuman abilities and a weak hold on her human emotions.[62] When she is rejected emotionally by Fitz, whom she had made her lover in the Framework, she begins a murderous rampage and plots to create a new fascist regime like that of the Framework.[63] Aida is finally killed after Coulson uses Ghost Rider's powers and immolates her.[64]

Ajax is a member of the Pantheon, and is one of the descendants of the immortal Agamemnon, along with Achilles, Atalanta, Cassiopeia, Delphi, Hector, Paris, Perseus, Prometheus, and Ulysses. Ajax was born in Texas. He was named after Ajax, a Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan War.[volume & issue needed]

When the warriors of the Pantheon first encounter the Hulk, for the purpose of inviting him to join them, Ajax attacks the Hulk after he believes the Hulk has struck Atalanta, for whom Ajax bears an unrequited crush. To prevent injuries to nearby civilians, Hulk pretends to be rendered unconscious so that the Pantheon will take him captive.[65] When the Pantheon returns to their headquarters, The Mount, the formerly captive Hulk frees himself, and Ajax fights him again but this time is defeated by him.[66] After the Hulk accepts the Pantheon's offer to join them Ajax attacks him again, but Atalanta, to whom Ajax is submissive, tells him that the Hulk is now a member of the Pantheon, and that he must now regard him as a friend.[67]

Ajax serves on many of the Pantheon's missions while the Hulk is part of the team. Ajax fights rioters in New York City alongside Atalanta, killing some of them because his companion ordered this.[68] Alongside the Hulk and the Pantheon, he battles S.H.I.E.L.D. and the forces of Farnoq Dahn in the Trans-Sabal war,[69][70] and battled the People's Protectorate.[71] After Atalanta is injured Ajax visits her in the Mount's hospital.[72] He battles Dracchiss alongside the Pantheon,[73] and is badly burned in a fight with the U-Foes.[74]

When he discovered Atalanta and Achilles in a romantic interlude, Ajax flies into a jealous rage, threatening to hurt both of them. He is eventually restrained and calmed by the Hulk.[75]

Ajax is so massive that he cannot move quickly without a special exoskeleton battle-suit, which grants him superhuman strength, durability and reflexes. His strength increases as his anger builds, much like that of the Hulk. Like other members of the Pantheon, Ajax has a fast healing ability and an extended lifespan. Without support from his battle-suit, Ajax's legs and spine would collapse under his tremendous weight. His body is disproportionate in shape. He also has poor vision.

He has the mentality of a young child, making him sometimes difficult to control. Atalanta has always been able to calm him down, as he idolizes her and will do anything she says. Of course, this sometimes leads to other problems. For a time, he did not understand the difference between romantic love and platonic friendship love and this drove him into a rampage, where he even threatened Atalanta herself. The rampage was ended before anyone was seriously hurt (in Pantheon terms) or killed. Ajax took his rage out on an inanimate mountain, not realizing he was endangering himself as well. The Hulk managed to talk him into calming down.

The Hulk has also gotten into trouble when he fails to treat Ajax with the proper mind frame. At first he attacks Ajax again when he mistakes a simple hug for another threat against Atalanta. Then the Hulk let it slip that Bambi's mother had died, distressing Ajax who had been told, by Atalanta, she had run away and come back after the movie had ended.

Albert is a robot double of Wolverine who was created along with his counterpart Elsie-Dee by Donald Pierce. These androids were designed to kill Wolverine. The Wolverine double was to act as the bait and Elsie-Dee (who outwardly appears to be a 5-year-old girl) was to trap Wolverine in a burning building, where she would detonate with sufficient force to kill him. Initially, Albert had a primitive artificial brain with limited higher logic functions and no emotions, and he was not referred to as Albert, but as "Dummy".[76]

Pierce's plan to kill Wolverine failed because one of the Reavers, Bonebreaker, accidentally gave Elsie-Dee the maximum artificial intelligence one of Pierce's automatons was capable of. As a result, Elsie-Dee eventually found a way to defuse her detonation sequence and enhanced the primitive intelligence of her counterpart, giving him intelligence beyond even hers. It was at this point that Elsie named him Albert, after Albert Einstein. Having met Wolverine, he and Elsie-Dee decided that he was a noble person and did not deserve to die and consequently abandoned their mission.[77]

As Albert still wasn't strong enough to defeat Wolverine, he and Elsie-Dee continued to carry out their mission. While Elsie-Dee saved Wolverine while they were in a burning building, Albert went to an electronic store and hacked into NASA's supercomputers to find a way to crack Donald Pierce's programming. After crunching the numbers and sending them to Elsie-Dee, Albert is shot by the police for raiding the electronic store.[78]

Albert rebuilt himself in the police evidence locker and stole a steal bomber. Then he reconnected with Elsie-Dee.[79]

The two robots risked their artificial lives several times for each other and for Wolverine. At some point they traveled in time and had several adventures, even teaming up with Wolverine's old enemy Bloodscream. Albert gains a leadership role with a local Indian tribe.[80]

During the "Hunt for Wolverine" storyline, Albert was mentioned in Daredevil's discussion with Nur as one of the Wolverine's that they are not looking for.[81] In Saskatchewan, someone that looks like Wolverine massacres the forest rangers and injured people at Ranger Outpost Nine at Meadowlake Provincial Park. When Daredevil, Misty Knight, Nur, and Cypher arrive to investigate the sighting, Cypher is attacked the Wolverine-like character.[82] When Daredevil confronts the character on top of the Attilan Security Force Skycharger, he discovers that it is Albert as Daredevil recalls his history. During the fight with Albert, Daredevil is asked what he did with Elsie-Dee. It took the weapons of Misty Knight, Nur, and a recovered Cypher to deactivate Albert. The four of them left an anonymous tip for the Canadian authorities on where to find him.[83]

Albert was superhumanly strong, could interface directly with computers, and had an intellect greater than his designer Donald Pierce. Albert had 3 retractable claws on each hand, just as Wolverine (but not adamantium). Albert not only had technological knowledge centuries beyond conventional science (which he was capable of making significant progress in), but also perfect photographic recall and profuse knowledge of even the most obscure facets of history. Albert reinforced his construction with bulletproof armor and stole a stealth fighter, which he and Elsie-Dee may still be in possession of. Although Albert was initially designed to fight Wolverine he had limited fighting skills.

In Exiles #85 the Timebroker gathered multiple teams – each full of Wolverines – to finish the repairing of the broken realities. The last team he gathered consisted a version of Albert and Elsie-Dee from Earth-50211. The first mission of the team was to kill an evil Magneto (female) who melded with that world's Wolverine, Quicksilver (female), Scarlet Warlock (male Scarlet Witch), and Mesmero (female), and already captured (and manipulated) dozens of Wolverines from the previous teams. When they've arrived they were ambushed immediately and both of them were captured, as well as two of their teammates.[84]

Alchemy (Thomas 'Jellybeans' Jones) is a fictional Britishmutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Alchemy, created by British comic book fan Paul Betsow, was the winning entry of a contest held by Marvel Comics for the best fan-created character. Marvel agreed to publish the winning character in an issue of New Mutants. However, Alchemy eventually first appeared in X-Factor (1st series) #41 instead.

Thomas 'Jellybeans' Jones was still a teenager when his mutant powers first manifested. With little control over his powers, Thomas could turn objects he touched into gold. This drew the attention of the Troll Associates[85], a group of trolls. Centuries ago, trolls had been driven underground by humanity, but the Troll Associates wanted to reclaim the British Isles for their kind. The Troll Associates kidnapped Thomas and told him to create an abundance of gold to collapse the British economy, but Thomas refused to comply.[86]

Meanwhile, Thomas' mother had witnessed her son's abduction by the trolls and thought that the trolls were mutants. She called X-Factor for help. X-Factor tracked down the trolls, following a trail of gold that Thomas had left behind, but the trolls defeated and imprisoned X-Factor. The trolls then tried to force Thomas to obey by threatening his mother. To protect his mother, Thomas turned the leaders of the Troll Associates, Phy and Phee, into gold. The Troll Associates retreated and Thomas then turned the golden trolls into lead (to avoid the aforementioned economic problems). X-Factor placed the leaden trolls in Hyde Park as statues. Thomas decided to study biochemistry so that he could restore the leaden trolls back to normal.[87]
A few years later, the Troll Associates kidnapped Alchemy's mother. Alchemy was forced to obey them, but he secretly called X-Factor for help (His call was forwarded to the X-Men). On their way to restore the leaden trolls back to normal, the Troll Associates and Alchemy ran into Excalibur. The two groups fought and Alchemy turned Captain Britain and Meggan into gold. The X-Men met up with Excalibur and together they tracked down the trolls, but both groups were captured. Excalibur-leader Nightcrawler managed to convince the majority of the trolls that the Troll Associates' methods were wrong. He challenged the new leader of the Troll Associates, Phough, to single combat, while Excalibur and the X-Men freed themselves. Phough then tried to kill Alchemy's mother, but Nightcrawler saved her and Alchemy turned Phough into a golden statue. Alchemy then revealed to Excalibur and the X-Men that, due to his biochemistry studies, he could now restore humans back to normal and restored Captain Britain and Meggan.[88]

Alchemy is one of a handful of mutants to retain their powers after the events of the House of M.[89]

Alchemy was instrumental to Cyclops' plan to save the mutant race by transmuting the Terrigen Clouds into a substance that is not harmful to mutants or humans. He was able to successfully transmute one of the clouds, but succumbed to Terrigen poisoning immediately afterwards.[90]

Alchemy has the ability to alter the chemical composition of anything he touches into its elemental components. He can also change matter into other forms so long as he fully understands the physical composition of the desired result. In his first appearance he could only change objects into simple chemical elements, usually gold. Due to his study of biochemistry, he can now also change objects into more complex molecules, allowing him to change transmuted living beings back to normal.

Alhazred's origins are unknown, but it has been discovered that he was first the leader of a small band of slaves in the desert. Starting to rebel due to his cruel force over the group, the slaves fought the powerful ruler but were defeated. However, the Arab was wounded, and, because of only a small bit of self-reliance, the group abandoned their leader and left him to die in the middle of the Sahara.

Soon he stumbled upon a mystic rock, and became trapped inside a tiny dimensional realm in subterranean Earth, where he died, though his soul later blended with another being, a reptilian species in that same realm.

Later on, his soul escaped from the creature and managed to escape the rock, bonding to a nearby host who gained all of his former traits (not counting his appearance).

Alhazred soon gained control over a new group of slaves whom he forced to take an entrance through a large but dark cave, and into the dimension (Alhazred had destroyed the rock by throwing it at the back of a cave, which opened a portal to the realm) to gather a valuable crystal found only in the realm. One of the slaves grew afraid and ran back out the entrance, and he was slaughtered by Alhazred.

Tarzan had spotted this, and he ran to fight the menace and avenge the slave, but could not.

Later that day, Alhazred captured an African princess to serve as a sacrifice into the portal. Seeing this, Tarzan gathered up a band of criminals hoping to stop this madness, but they were all captured by the Arab. As the group journeyed into the cave, Tarzan and the princess secretly escaped, but the rest of the criminals eagerly accompanied Alhazred.

When the princess was nowhere to be found (as she and Tarzan were already long gone across the sea) when the sacrificial ceremony was held, the group went out looking for the two. Alhazred summoned all of his magical traveling abilities, and soon he was able to track down his prey.

The group traveled over the Atlantic Ocean and battled pirates. After the end of the voyage, the exhausted group journeyed to the jungle of Mahar, but they were too late. Tarzan and the princess had already arrived to find a crystal very similar to the one in Alhazred's dimension.

When Alhazred and his group were spotted, Tarzan and the princess took revenge on the ruler, and even the criminals suddenly turned on him. It was then that a battle was fought.

While Tarzan battled the Arab, the princess tried to find a way to seize the crystal, but she was killed by a mad slave prisoner. While the battle went on against Alhazred, the Mad Arab finally had enough and quickly created a stampede of dinosaurs from mystical energy.

After this trick had seemingly not harmed Tarzan, Alhazred decided to make him the sacrifice. The crystal was meanwhile losing energy, and it needed more to be stable. The crystal quickly then drained all energy from the powerful Arab, and the man crumbled into ashes.[91]

Abdul Alhazred sought control of the Madripoor criminal empire of Tyger Tiger, so he could overthrow Prince Baran and gain a new power base. Alhazred sent agents to kidnap Tiger and Archie Corrigan, but the thugs argued, causing them to crash their plane in Madripoor's jungles. There, Wolverine defeated them and rescued the pair. The X-Man said he was not familiar with Alhazred and respected his power.[92]

Later, Alhazred himself attacked and beat Wolverine, then successfully kidnapped Tiger and Corrigan. When Wolverine arrives to free his allies, Alhazred unleased his demons, hoping to send Wolverine into a rage, which Alhazred could use to control the mutant. Logan resisted by maintaining control of himself and caused the psychic backlash to banish Alhazred to the extradimensional demon realm.[93]

Abdul Alhazred has a seemingly endless number of mystical, magical, and psionic abilities. He can teleport in a cloud of smoke and powerfully hypnotize others. He possesses massive strength and durability, making him bulletproof.

As a master of the Necronomicon, he summons demons to attack others physically or mentally, and forcefully use fear and intimidation to control his servants.

All-American (Jack Magniconte), who has also been called Mr. Magnificent is a fictional character published in the New Universe imprint of Marvel Comics. He was the central figure of Kickers, Inc., and when that title was discontinued he became a supporting character in other New Universe titles. When the New Universe was brought into the mainstream Marvel Universe, he was one of the characters featured.

Jack Magniconte was the star quarterback for the New York Smashers, dubbed "Mr. Magnificent" by the press. His brother Steve (who had raised him) designed a machine to enhance muscle mass and borrowed money from a loan shark to build the device. Jack was one of the people who was affected by the radiation of the "White Event"—a then-unexplained cosmic event which caused a small percentage of the human race to develop superhuman powers. Jack's powers, however, did not manifest until he volunteered to test his brother's "intensifier." Upon first exposure, Jack's hair turned white and his muscle-mass and stamina were increased to a superhuman level.

At first thrilled, Jack discovered that football no longer held any challenge for him, and he began trying to wear himself out before games in an attempt to give his opponents a sporting chance. Meanwhile, Steve's intensifier was not having any measurable result on other test subjects. Steve was unable to pay the loan shark back, so the loan shark suggest that he have Jack throw the Super Bowl instead. Steve did not even ask his brother to do so, and Jack won the Super Bowl easily (although by this time it meant nothing to him). Jack came to visit his brother afterwards, just in time to see his brother killed by one of the loan shark's men. He overpowered the killer easily.

Jack decided to dedicate his life to helping others, and formed a non-profit foundation called "Kickers, Inc." to help people with unusual problems. He was joined in this project by his wife Darlene and several of his teammates. However, an unscrupulous CIA agent began blackmailing him with threats of getting him banned from football. Although he cooperated at first, running several missions for the CIA, he eventually resisted and was blacklisted.

Jack is among the New Universe superheroes who fights with Quasar in the Starblast series, where the "New Universe" Earth is brought into the main Marvel Universe. Jack is on his Earth when the Living Tribunal seals it off from the rest of that universe.

In newuniversal: shockfront #1, Giovanni "Jack" Magniconte's powers manifest for the first time during a televised game – he struck and killed opposing player Michael Hathaway with a single blow.[97] This immediately brought him to the attention of Project Spitfire, as well as the other existing superhumans. Spitfire's Philip L. Voight then attempted to kill Magniconte, detonating a suitcase bomb that destroyed the building Magniconte was being detained in.

Jack Magniconte is a superb athlete, combatant, and martial artist. After being experimented on, Jack gained superhuman strength, durability, agility, reflexes, and speed. He can run up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) for as long as 10 minutes before beginning to tire, and he is bulletproof to indirect shots. Jack can also lift up to 1 ton and wears a bulletproof uniform and helmet. He is a skilled pilot and uses a variety of automatic weapons, preferably guns.

Andy Maguire was a student at Midtown High School, the same school Peter Parker attended, but unlike Parker, he was not a good student, he was completely ignored by everyone and his parents did not care about his schoolwork and neglected him.

One day during a demonstration at Horizon Labs, a problem arises during Parker's demonstration of "Parker Particles". Despite the attempts of Peter Parker and others to protect the class, Andy is forced to save a girl named Chrissy in the ensuing chaos, causing him to be struck by the energy himself. Instead of being fatally injured, he miraculously survived and Andrew gains the ability to create a hyper-kinetic form of energy tied to the forces of the universe. After being tested by many scientists and superheroes Mister Fantastic, Hank Pym, Iron Man, and Beast, Andy became the new spokesman of Horizon Labs at Mister Fantastic's suggestion to Max Modell. He was also being trained by Peter Parker's superheroic alter-ego Spider-Man.[98]

The following days, Andy continued his superheroic career with the help of Spider-Man, although receiving a bad reception from the citizens. After observing Alpha, Jackal kidnapped the boy along with his parents, in order to create clones of him and build an army to control the world. Spider-Man managed to track Andy to the villain's lair, where they learned Andy's DNA was not affected by the accident, leading his newly formed clones to be powerless. After failing to absorb Alpha's power, the Jackal escaped. In the aftermath, he was emancipated from his parents.[99]

After he was called by Spider-Man to help the Avengers to battle Terminus, Alpha used his powers carelessly, causing many aircraft to shut down, risking the lives of the passengers and people in the ground. After the Avengers managed to rescue the various passengers, Spider-Man, his Aunt May and her husband Jay Jameson from Jameson's malfunctioning private jet, Peter decided that Alpha was too irresponsible to wield the powers he had. He used Terminus' energy lance to deflect Alpha's energy to build an engine which took a huge portion of Andy's power. Spider-Man tells Andy that he will return to his parents and he will be attending high school once more. His powers are still growing, and maybe, he can be a hero again, just not as Alpha.[100]

Six months after these events took place, Andy's parents divorced and Andy, along with his mother, moved in with Andy's grandmother. Later, the Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus' mind in Peter Parker's body) returned 10% of Alpha's abilities to him in order to harness Parker Particles to make himself more powerful. Alpha then attempted to save a woman from a mugger, but accidentally crushed the man's skull. After admitting the mugger to the Pittsburgh University Medical Center, Alpha destroys an elemental parasite, preventing it from demolishing a steel plant. He then, after saving his friend Susan "Soupcan" Rice from a restaurant fire, realizes the Parker Particles have enhanced his senses to the point that he can hear and see everything on Earth. He then visits the mugger, who awakes and vows revenge, later mutating into a tumor-like beast named Zeta. After defeating an ex-Stark International engineer named The Miller with Thor's assistance, he attempts to remove the rampaging Zeta from the hospital, but is alerted that his mother's home is burning down, at the behest of "Boss" Cohen, Pittsburgh's top crime boss. After saving his mother, he enlists Spider-Man to help destroy Zeta, but fails to completely destroy all the cancerous tissue, allowing Zeta to escape. Then, after an attempt on Soupcan's life by one of Cohen's hitmen, Alpha threatens to kill Cohen, but is deterred by the fact that Cohen knows about the mugger. He then tells Alpha to not prevent any of Cohen's crimes, or he'll release the information to the media. Andy then reveals his identity to his only other friend Duncan Kilgore and attempts to make a name for himself as protector of Pittsburgh.

Due to his exposure to the Parker Particles, Andy is now capable of continually recharging massive amounts of cosmic energy, which he can release in the form of energy blasts, super strength, super speed, force fields, telekinesis, matter manipulation, and flight. So far, however, he's only able to manifest one of his abilities at a time instead of all at once. The Superior Spider-Man noted that it is possible that Alpha is the only being capable of utilizing Parker Particles without turning into a parasitic monster, or "Zeta".

Following an epic battle with the Avengers,[102] Magneto is imprisoned in the center of Earth. Magneto manages to escape and propels himself towards the surface.[103] On the way, he finds the underground ruins of a long-lost technologically advanced civilization in New Mexico. Using the machinery and books he finds among the ruins, he began bio-engineering "the ultimate mutant".

Alpha emerges as an oversized humanoid of subhuman intelligence (he was characterized as "neolithic"[104]). Initially he is only capable of creating force fields as a reflex, and of blindly following Magneto's orders. However, each time he uses his powers, Alpha's cranium widens, causing an increase to his intellect.

Magneto has Alpha teleport him and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to the United Nations headquarters.[105] When his demands for world rulership are turned down, Magneto orders Alpha to telekinetically lift the Secretariat Building and suspend it in mid-air. After the Defenders attack the Brotherhood, Alpha was coerced by Magneto to retaliate in various means, including:

The rampant use of his powers eventually elevate Alpha's awareness to a superhuman level. Persuaded by Professor X, he telepathically probes both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Defenders in order to discover which team was evil. Understanding that Magneto had fooled him into committing malicious acts, Alpha punishes his erstwhile allies by regressing them to infancy. He also restores the United Nations building complex and erases the event from the minds of all onlookers.

Finally, declaring himself too evolved to remain on Earth, Alpha transforms himself to a streak of light and leaves to explore the universe.

Quasar briefly glimpses Alpha, first on the Stranger's Labworld,[106] and then during his journeys in the cosmos.[107] From what Quasar saw, Alpha seems to be paired with another highly evolved humanoid named Futurist.

Alpha the Ultimate Mutant possesses telepathy and vast powers enabling him to transmute the elements, reconstruct matter, reverse the aging process, project force fields, teleport himself and others, fly, and survive in the vacuum of space. He possesses telekinetic powers which are enough to lift a 50-story skyscraper and the surrounding land into the air. His powers are not without limits and are presumably weaker than those of the Stranger.

Alpha the Ultimate Mutant originally had a hulking form which likely possessed great strength but lacked enough intelligence to obey commands. Within a few hours, Alpha's cranium and brain grew in size and evolved into a being of great intellect with a form to match.

Alpha the Ultimate Mutant stands at 10 feet tall, although he can alter his form at will.

Alpha the Ultimate Mutant was seen in the X-Men theme where he was seen charging towards the X-Men with the mutants on Magneto's side. He later appeared in the episode "Beyond Good and Evil" Pt. 4, amongst the psychic mutants.

He travels across America and uses a police scanner to track down criminals. He is not above executing the criminals he thinks deserve said fate. He sometimes takes money from the drug-trafficking criminals he battles, keeping half and donating the rest to drug rehabilitation programs. Americop finds himself in conflict with Captain America while trying to bring down a child exploitation ring; Captain America is appalled by his brutality.[112]

Americop's investigation led him to the New Orleans mansion of indestructible munitions magnate Damon Dran. Although initially subdued by a gas grenade attack and imprisoned alongside Captain America, he manages to break free. During the fight, he kills several of Dran's mercenaries. During the resulting fight, he shoots down Dran's helicopter. Americop believes Dran died during the crash when the criminal in fact survived.[113]

After the super-hero Civil War, Americop is a target on the Thunderbolts' Most Wanted list. Norman Osborn sends Penance and Bullseye to battle Americop, with the secret hope the vigilante will kill the two (as both haven't been worth the trouble). Instead, the two crash Americop's truck and Bullseye causes Penance's stored-up energy to be unleashed which fries 80 percent of the vigilante's synaptic nerve endings.[114]

He later died (presumably from his injuries) and had his uniform and code name copied by a private security force called the Americops run by Keane Industries.[115]

He wears bulletproof Kevlar body armor, a ballistic facemask and a customized cap which doubles as a throwing weapon. His costume includes a device that absorbs ambient electrical energy and uses it to increase his strength to low-superhuman levels.[116]

Anansi was a member of the Vodu, deities worshipped by the tribes of Africa.[119] According to Ezekiel Sims and the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, Anansi was the very first Spider-Man who used his powers to travel through Africa. Anansi made a deal with the Sky God, Nyame, offering his eternal service in exchange for more enlightenment and after transmitting his power and knowledge to the Great Web, he vanished.[120] His temple was then used by Peter Parker to defeat the totemic wasp entity, Shathra and was then used as a battle arena, when Peter and Ezekiel started fighting in order to appease totemic entity, the Gatekeeper.[121]

During "Spider-Island", Anansi was disguised as a pest specialist known as A. Nancy and visited Hercules at the place where Hercules was working. After talking for a bit, Hercules helped Nancy to sneak into Arachne's apartment in order to steal her Tapestry. After that, Nancy was attacked by Elektra who stole the tapestry, but left Nancy alive, even though Baba Yaga had ordered her to kill him.[122]

David Angar volunteers for an experiment that subjects his vocal cords to hypersound, granting him the ability to scream loudly and cause hallucinations. He becomes an assassin and tries to kill Daredevil and Black Widow.[125] He later enters a relationship with similarly-powered Screaming Mimi.[126] He is shot during a robbery and dies.[127] The Fixer takes Angar's body and experiments on his larynx,[128] resurrecting Angar as the abstract sound being Scream.[129] Scream joins the Redeemers[130] and his form is dispersed by Graviton. He manages to restore himself and goes on a rampage until Songbird disperses him for good.[128]

David A. Angar appears in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "One of Us", portrayed by Jeff Daniel Phillips.[131] As a result of an experimental cancer treatment, Angar has a voice that renders any living thing catatonic. He is freed from his imprisonment by Calvin Zabo and his allies Karla Faye Gideon, Wendell Levi, and Francis Noche where they form the Slicing Talons. When at a football stadium in Manitowoc, Wisconsin upon Angar's muzzle being removed, Calvin and the others put on headphones while Angar unleashes his voice attack causing everyone in the radius of his voice to suffer catatonia to the point where any flying birds crashed to the ground. During the confrontation with Phil Coulson's group, Angar was prepared to use his voice again until Gordon shows up and teleports Cal away. Coulson took the opportunity to knock out Angar.[132]

The Answer studies Spider-Man's powers,[133] and then attacks Spider-Man and the Black Cat to test the limits of their powers.[134] He then kidnaps the Black Cat to misdirect Spider-Man's attention as he steals Silvermane's body from the police morgue,[135] and assisted the Kingpin in partially restoring Silvermane's life.[136] He then kidnapped Dagger in hopes that her powers would cure the Kingpin's ailing wife.[137] Silvermane rampages mindlessly; to end the rampage, the Answer sacrifices his corporeal form and converts himself to energy to revive Dagger, who possesses Silvermane's life-force.[138]

The Answer later telepathically contacts Doctor Octopus[139] who restores his corporeal existence.[140] The Answer ends up fighting with Octavius and is defeated by him. He later appears in the Raft where he escapes but is captured by Toxin.

It is later revealed that he had been feigning bad luck in order to reunite with his unrequited love Ruby Thursday, before her body is killed by Bullseye.[141]

Later, the Answer is a self-confessed loser at the wake of Stilt-Man. Almost all of the supervillains at the wake were the victims of murder/attempted murder. The Punisher disguises himself as a barman, poisons drinks, and then blows up the bar.[143]

He was one of many prisoners who escaped from the Raft at the start of the Secret Invasion.[147] He is one among many supervillains who joined the Hood's crime syndicate and attacked an invading Skrull force.[148]

During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Answer joins with the Hood's gang in an attack on the New Avengers, who were expecting the Dark Avengers instead.[149]

Answer leads a group of the Hood's gang, would go to war with Mister Negative over the ownership of various criminal operations in Chinatown.[150]

He was seen during the Siege of Asgard as part of the Hood crime syndicate where they take part in the attack on Asgard.[151]

During the "Search for Tony Stark" arc, Answer rejoined Hood's gang and assisted in the attack on Castle Doom.[152]

During the "Hunted" storyline, Answer was seen as a patron at the Pop-Up with No Name.[153]

The first Answer underwent genetic manipulation to grant him the ability to develop any power needed in a certain situation. For example, if surrounded by thugs, he will gain superhuman strength and durability, allowing him to defeat them.[154] In another situation, he may obtain pyrokinesis or the ability to turn himself into pure energy. Flight may be an ability that is always active. Other than that, at rest or not in any sort of situation, he will display no abilities. The powers he manifests typically last for five minutes, and he can display up to two separate powers at once.[155] He also has superhuman intelligence and intuition. The Answer wears body armor that was created with the help of the Kingpin's scientists. The armor is coated with a friction-eliminating chemical that allows him to slip from any grasp or prevent anything from adhering to him.

After Aaron Nicholson's "death", S.H.I.E.L.D. agent David Ferrari took the name of Answer in Captain America vol. 3 #42. He was a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as a member of the U.S. Army and Furnace. He was also the former ally of the Crimson Dynamo and the brother of Connie. He led a mission to an A.I.M. base to prevent the release of the Omega Compound, however he released two drops to destroy the base.[156] He later uses drugs to control Nick Fury, at which point he had allied himself with the Crimson Dynamo in attempt to steal missiles from Khamistan to take over the world. He was opposed by Captain America.[157]

After Aaron Nicholson lost his physical form, his gear was sold to Roderick Kingsley who gave it to an unknown criminal. He was present when Hobgoblin (who was actually Roderick Kingsley's butler Claude) led his forces into battle against the Goblin King's Goblin Nation. After Hobgoblin was killed by Goblin King, Answer was among the villains that defected to the Goblin Nation.[158]

Following Spider-Man's victory over the Goblin King, Answer was with the other former Hobgoblin minions at the Bar with No Name where they encounter Electro.[159]

With the Squadron, she travels to a different universe.[162] When they return, Arcanna discovers the nature of magic changed while she was away and that she will have to relearn all of her skills. Instead, she chooses to retire from adventuring to be with her family.[163]

Aron decided to forsake the Watchers' oath and actively participate in events on Earth, becoming an instigator and manipulator. He set Dragon Man against She-Hulk and She-Thing, and obtained cell samples from the Thing and She-Thing.[170] Aron observed the Fantastic Four battling Graviton, and witnessed the events of Inferno.[171] Aron was in turn observed by Necrodamus.[172] Aron then joined forces with the Frightful Four against the Fantastic Four,[173] but soon quit the Frightful Four. Aron created clones of the Fantastic Four and She-Thing, and imprisoned the real Fantastic Four and Frightful Four members in suspended animation, and watched their dreams. He replaced the real Fantastic Four with his clones, and set them against the Mole Man.[174] Aron continued to engineer "adventures" for his clones, causing them to appear as criminals. The clones battled the Avengers and Doctor Strange, and were ultimately defeated by the real Fantastic Four after the originals broke free. Aron settled for watching the dreams of the clones instead.[175]

When the entire species of the Watchers faced extinction at the hands of the Celestials, Aron planned to plunge either Earth's solar system or its galaxy (the narration is not entirely clear) into a pocket universe, which he intended to live on in. He even collaborated with Dark Raider (the Mister Fantastic of Earth-944) to further his goals. However, his plan was thwarted by the expanded Fantastic Four and their allies, and Aron was reduced to energy by his uncle Uatu. For this action, Uatu was stripped of his position as a Watcher. Uatu believed that Aron's energies would serve as the core around which to create a new "One", the sentient repository of all the Watchers' knowledge, whose predecessor had been destroyed by the Celestial Exitar the Exterminator.[176]

As a member of the Watchers, the level of Aron's physical and mental abilities are unknown, and potentially incalculable by human standards. He has the ability to manipulate cosmic energy for various effects, including the ability to convert his body into energy for travel through hyperspace, and projection of cosmic energy as concussive force, molecular manipulation of matter, inter-dimensional teleportation, creation of force fields, levitation, size transformations, alteration of his physical appearance, and enhancement of his physical attributes. He possesses virtual immortality, bolstered by treatment with "delta-rays" (though Watchers can die by losing the will to live).

He has also developed his vast psionic powers through training, and his powers include telepathy, illusion-casting, and energy-manipulation powers.

Aron has access to various alien artifacts and technology as needed. Through unknown means, Aron had managed to create a special armor that shields him from detection by his fellow Watchers.

When Deathbird becomes Empress, Astra commands the entire Imperial Guard to fight the combined forces of the Starjammers and Excalibur on Earth so that she could claim the power of the Phoenix Force for herself. The Guard are forced to retreat when Deathbird is put in danger.[179]

Astra has the ability to become intangible, allowing her to pass through solid objects. She can also use her power offensively, phasing her hand into her opponent and becoming partly solid, which gives them a physical shock and renders them unconscious.

Astra is a mutant created by Alan Davis and first appearing in Uncanny X-Men #366.

She is one of Magneto's first recruits from his original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[180] She does not share Magneto's goals, and the two part ways as enemies.[180] Years later, she revives a mindwiped Magneto and clones him.[180] Astra orders the clone to kill the original, but the clone loses the battle and joins the X-Men under the name "Joseph".[181] Astra later uses him against Magneto and the X-Men.[182] Astra later recreates Joseph without memories and programs him to hate humankind.[183] She also creates mutated clones of other Brotherhood members.[184] The Stepford Cuckoos uncover Astra's collaboration with Christopher Bach, president of the organization Humans Now, in order to restore fear to Magneto's name.[185] Magneto defeated Joseph and his clone Brotherhood, but Astra escapes.[185]

Atum (also known as Demogorge) is a being in the Marvel Universe. The character, created by Alan Zelenetz, first appeared in Thor Annual #10 in 1982.

Within the context of the stories, Atum is the son of the entity known as the Demiurge and the Elder GodGaea. A golden humanoid imbued with the power of the Sun itself, Atum kills the warring Elder Gods and, absorbing their life force, is changed by their evil energies and devolves into a huge, hulking demonic being – Demogorge, the God Eater. Only Chthon and Set survive by fleeing into alternate dimensions. With Gaea the only Elder God remaining, the God Eater sheds the Elder Gods' energies and becomes Atum, journeying to the Sun and hibernating there.[186] During this long period of hibernation, Atum takes on the identity of Ammon-Ra, and forms the Ogdoad, the primordial gods of ancient Egypt.[187]

Thousands of years later, a group of eight Death Gods from various pantheons (including Hela; Pluto; Seth and non-Death God Mephisto) combine their mystical might to join all the Hells into one vast dimension. This act forces the reemergence and intervention of the Demogorge, who consumed all but the fleeing Hela. A champion from each pantheon is sent to stop Demogorge and prevent further disaster. Led by Thor, the champions find the God Eater and battle it. Demogorge is defeated by Thor, who plunges into one of its orifices and attacks the God Eater's inner workings. Damaged beyond repair, the entity can no longer contain the energies it has consumed and releases all the previously consumed gods, and restores the Hells to their rightful dimensions.[188]

During the Secret Invasion storyline, the alien Skrulls invade Earth at the behest of their deities, Kly'bn and Sl'gur't. A cadre of gods consisting of Hercules, Snowbird, Amatsu-Mikaboshi and Ajak is formed to combat the Skrull gods, with Atum joining the Earthly pantheon at the request of Horus. He compares himself to a shepherd defending his flock, which he will one day eat.[189] During the confrontation, Atum is killed after trying to devour Sl'gur't, who tears him apart from the inside.[190]

Later, after Thor is slain battling the evil Serpent,[191] his divine soul travels to an afterlife for gods, where he joins many other deities who appear to have died and are all on their way to be devoured by Demogorge; apparently a being such as he can never truly be destroyed.[192] Nevertheless, Thor defeats him by smashing his heart after entering his body, and escapes him once again.

Avoe was the queen and goddess of the Inhuman Dire Wraiths, who had evolved through Exogenesis. Her poeple made up one fourth of the Universal Inhumans who responded to Earth's moon when searching for Black Bolt, the Midnight King of prophesy.[193] After the return of Black Bolt, Avoe became one of his queens.[194]

During the "Infinity" storyline, where Thanos invaded Earth, which made Black Bolt destroy Attilan,[195] Avoe and the other Universal Inhumans fled Earth to find a new place to live and eventually they established on the planet Centauri-IV, since they were unable to return to their homeworlds.[196]

When the Kree Empire begun ordering all surviving Inhumans to join them or die, the Universal Inhumans arranged a secret meeting to discuss the situation. Before the Inhuman Royal Family arrived, the queens considered to surrender to the Kree, but instead the Kree send their Super-Inhuman soldier, Vox, who killed the queens and their attendants, in order to send a message to Black Bolt that he wasn't safe.[197]